It is always disappointing when a leader fails. This is because many times it was avoidable. Therefore, to protect organizations and the leaders themselves from an unnecessary transition, the following are The Top 25 Reasons Leaders Fail:

It was a bad hire or placement in the first place.

The leader was ill-equipped for the job.

Once there, the leader was never empowered.

The leader does not build a healthy relationship and establish open lines of communication with the organization’s top producer(s).

The leader does not build a quality inner-circle.

The leader has a personal agenda and does not put the team and organization first.

Top producers do not trust the leader.

Decisions are being made and roles are being defined without the leader’s input.

The speed of the team exceeds the speed of the leader.

The leader has low emotional intelligence.

The leader is not thankful for the team’s efforts.

The leader insults the members of his/her team.

The leader is constantly insecure and must defend their resume and/or actions.

The leader is constantly blindsided.

The leader is passive. There is no sense of urgency.

The leader does not put the team in positions to be successful.

Issues are not addressed head-on.

The leader cannot deal with adversity well. They either over-react or go into a shell.

The leader does not inspire the team.

The leader takes credit for the team’s success.

The leader does not have the respect of the team or others in the organization.

The leader continually blames others, circumstances or bad luck for the team’s failures.

The leader has severe character issues which result in disqualification.

Does anything on this list describe your leadership or a leader in your organization? If so, the problem is now identified and now a performance improvement plan can be put into place. A leadership transition does not have to happen. You do not have to fail.